House Contract Under Scrutiny Pact With Larry Smith Questioned

WASHINGTON -- Members of a committee whose chairman signed a consulting contract with former U.S. Rep. Larry Smith grilled the chairman about the deal on Thursday.

``Whenever this House gives a contract to a former member, it raises deep concerns for me,`` said Rep. Dale Kildee, D-Mich. ``I question whether he would have received the contract if he hadn`t been a former member. I`m frankly quite distressed.``

The chairman of the House Administration Committee, which controls the money Congress spends on itself, agreed in January to give Smith a three-month, $18,624 contract to review House catering operations. Chairman Charlie Rose, D-N.C., signed the contract before the full committee reconvened for the new session of Congress.

Kildee was the only Democrat on the committee to vote against the contract when members were polled six weeks later. Although the decision was already moot at that point, all seven Republicans voted against it.

Rose on Thursday defended the hiring of Smith but said the contract would not be renewed automatically.

``Mr. Smith had billed us $6,003 as of March 8. We have received weekly reports from him as to what he`s done and who he has talked to,`` Rose said. ``Since he was 8, he`s been in his family`s restaurant business.

``He was hired because of his knowledge of how that industry works,`` Rose said. ``He is uniquely qualified.``

The committee did not respond to requests to see the reports. Numerous telephone calls to the committee office were not returned.

Smith could not be reached for comment on Thursday.

Smith`s contract expires on March 31. Smith`s pay would be $74,496 if the contract were extended for a full year.

The discussion about the contract with Smith turned into a political shoving match.

``All I want to know is how he got the contract,`` Kildee said.

``Our records reflect that we called your office and that you are the only Democratic member who voted no,`` Rose responded. ``Let`s move on.``

``I`m not very popular with this right now, but I have some problems,`` Kildee said. ``If you want to gag me, gag me.``

Rep. Bill Thomas of California, who had called the contract ``unwise,`` interrupted to say he had asked repeatedly to see the reports without success. Thomas is the ranking Republican on the committee.